How many Paperwhite replacements?

[Carmelreader]

I received three. I kept the 2nd one. The 1st had multiple colored blobs, the second was mainly green tinged with some pink on the edges and the third was pink and the pink seemed to effect the type clarity, making the letters seem faint in some areas and bold in others. Though the pink wasn't bad blob wise, I was so distracted by the variation in type and having one led brighter than the others, so went with green tinge, uniform type and equal leds.

I do find that I have mostly gotten used to the imperfections of the screen. For me they are only apparently in a dark or black room with PW set on low light (less than 12). I will keep this one and hope that they will be able to resolve this down the line. The software and all other aspects are so great that I have gotten very attached to this reader. I tried my wonderful K3 in the lighted case the other night, and it seemed so bright and not as easy to read. I had gotten spoiled by the PW even with its pastel green cloud tinged screen. It really is a great device even with its blemishes.

[Skydog]

Following receipt of my first on 10/3 (Wifi), I have had two replacements, each far worse than the original. The replacements were green-tinted displays with numerous areas of pink hues, less contrast and slightly darker at the same light level setting. They have been returned. I just received my second pre-order (3G), to give as a gift, and it too is green with pink blotches all over. It is being returned as well. The "best" of the lot was the first one, which I will keep for daytime reading as it is cooler, or more white, with only a faint tinge in one area which goes unnoticed with natural lighting. The contrast and fonts are good but only in a well-lighted room. The very faint shadows at the bottom are almost non-existent to my eyes -- not so with the dreadful color blotches in low lighting.

It is truly a shame that the abysmal quality control has dampened the enthusiasm for what should have been a great device.

[froggie731]

I got my first one at Best Buy, tinted pink on the lower 2/3. Got a replacement a couple days later from Amazon, it was really bad. Pink and green spots all over. Getting a third one delivered this Friday and after this if it's a bad one I'll keep the first one. Even though it's got one of the biggest spots, it's the least distracting. We'll see.

[Blossom]

Originally Posted by froggie731

I got my first one at Best Buy, tinted pink on the lower 2/3. Got a replacement a couple days later from Amazon, it was really bad. Pink and green spots all over. Getting a third one delivered this Friday and after this if it's a bad one I'll keep the first one. Even though it's got one of the biggest spots, it's the least distracting. We'll see.

You can return the replacements and go to BB and exchange the one you got from there still.

[froggie731]

Originally Posted by Blossom

You can return the replacements and go to BB and exchange the one you got from there still.

That is true, I'm just afraid of losing that one since the spot is the least bothersome of the two right now. I think if I find it to get distracting over the next week or so, then I will do that.

[sparklemotion]

I just got my 3rd PW and it's the worst one yet. UGH. An obvious black speck, worse color blobs, lighter in color. Just a mess. I thought I couldn't be more disgusted with this, but I think today I am. I guess I'll keep the one I have currently or maybe pick one up at Best Buy and see what I get there.

Originally Posted by sparklemotion

I just got my 3rd PW and it's the worst one yet. UGH. An obvious black speck, worse color blobs, lighter in color. Just a mess. I thought I couldn't be more disgusted with this, but I think today I am. I guess I'll keep the one I have currently or maybe pick one up at Best Buy and see what I get there.

Per your other thread, you might want to mention that this replacement seems to be a refurb. The era of refurbs for replacements has probably begun.

[sparklemotion]

Originally Posted by jswinden

Per your other thread, you might want to mention that this replacement seems to be a refurb. The era of refurbs for replacements has probably begun.

I did mention it to her and she looked it up and said it was new. She also claimed they don't have any PW refurbs yet. I have really lost faith with Amazon over the PW so I don't know what to believe.

[sirmaru]

The fact that the ratio of 5 star reviews to 1 star reviews for the Fire HD 7" is 4.52 to 1 and the same ratio concerning the Paperwhite is 3.49 to 1 while here in this Forum defective replacements to good replacements runs about 2 to 1 indicates that the same lot as the original defective PW's may have been used for those replacements.

Otherwise, the replacements should have had near the same ratio of good units to bad units as the original shipments of Paperwhites have had. It also indicates the Fire HD 7" models have a much better record of customer satisfaction than the PW.

From this link:

https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...=194827&page=2

"What is included with a Certified Refurbished Kindle?

A Certified Refurbished Kindle ships with a USB cable (for Kindle E Ink devices) or power adapter (for Kindle Fire devices). Unlike a new Kindle, a Certified Refurbished Kindle does not ship with a Quick Start Guide."

If you don't see a Quick Start Guide with the replacement, then you know it is a refurb.

On the other hand a real refurb should have gone through much better quality control and may be a great unit.

[tmf2]

Originally Posted by sirmaru

The fact that the ratio of 5 star reviews to 1 star reviews for the Fire HD 7" is 4.52 to 1 and the same ratio concerning the Paperwhite is 3.49 to 1 while here in this Forum defective replacements to good replacements runs about 2 to 1 indicates that the same lot as the original defective PW's may have been used for those replacements.

Otherwise, the replacements should have had near the same ratio of good units to bad units as the original shipments of Paperwhites have had. It also indicates the Fire HD 7" models have a much better record of customer satisfaction than the PW.

From this link:

https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...=194827&page=2

"What is included with a Certified Refurbished Kindle?

A Certified Refurbished Kindle ships with a USB cable (for Kindle E Ink devices) or power adapter (for Kindle Fire devices). Unlike a new Kindle, a Certified Refurbished Kindle does not ship with a Quick Start Guide."

If you don't see a Quick Start Guide with the replacement, then you know it is a refurb.

On the other hand a real refurb should have gone through much better quality control and may be a great unit.

Exactly what I was thinking regardless of the CS claims of no refurbs. Something don't smell right .

[weatherman]

I just got a replacement PW and it's better, though I can't tell how much. I think I'm going to have to use it in the dark for awhile to see the real effect - trying it out in a dark room during the day doesn't give my eyes enough time to adjust to really see if the blotchiness is really bothersome.

Below is a pic with the old and the new side-by-side. The old kindle is on the right in the photo, the new one on the left. The "Gorbechev Problem" appears on the right side of the old unit, kinda right in the middle, or a little more on the upper part of the screen. The new unit is better, but does seem to have a spot of blot in the upper left corner. The picture has been enhanced from the original to help bring out the blotchiness.



It's also worth noting that the new unit is slightly brighter than the old at the same setting. They are about 1-2 levels apart, i.e. if the new one is at a 10, the old one would have to be about a 11-12 to be the same brightness.

[tmf2]

I bet Amazon is banking on people keeping the lesser of evils. I'm still debating on that one myself. Three PWhites in all so I have to settle for the one that's less defective ? Sure its a cool idea but for $112.00 should one keep it just because its kind of cool. Ah... I don't think so and it sends a wrong message to Amazon and their QC. Personally I don't understand why they have not halted sales on these devices. They are obviously not ready for prime time.

[sparklemotion]

Originally Posted by weatherman

I just got a replacement PW and it's better, though I can't tell how much. I think I'm going to have to use it in the dark for awhile to see the real effect -
It's also worth noting that the new unit is slightly brighter than the old at the same setting. They are about 1-2 levels apart, i.e. if the new one is at a 10, the old one would have to be about a 11-12 to be the same brightness.

Yes, your new one definitely looks better. I do see some light color hues, but it's not nearly as bad as your original. Your original is.. yikes.. pretty awful. Very pink. I have noticed most of the units seem to have blue/green at the top and pink in the middle oddly. It does seem to vary by degrees though. I agree you should use it for a bit and see what you think.

I also had the same issue with different units having varying degrees of brightness, generally by about 2 notches. I had 3 units and all 3 were quite different brightness wise.

Originally Posted by tmf2

I bet Amazon is banking on people keeping the lesser of evils. I'm still debating on that one myself. Three PWhites in all so I have to settle for the one that's less defective ? Sure its a cool idea but for $112.00 should one keep it just because its kind of cool. Ah... I don't think so and it sends a wrong message to Amazon and their QC. Personally I don't understand why they have not halted sales on these devices. They are obviously not ready for prime time.

I don't understand it either. When I spoke to CS yesterday she said they haven't had any complaints that she knows of and that the majority of people are happy. Who knows.

[tmf2]

Originally Posted by sparklemotion

Yes, your new one definitely looks better. I do see some light color hues, but it's not nearly as bad as your original. Your original is.. yikes.. pretty awful. Very pink. I have noticed most of the units seem to have blue/green at the top and pink in the middle oddly. It does seem to vary by degrees though. I agree you should use it for a bit and see what you think.

I also had the same issue with different units having varying degrees of brightness, generally by about 2 notches. I had 3 units and all 3 were quite different brightness wise.



I don't understand it either. When I spoke to CS yesterday she said they haven't had any complaints that she knows of and that the majority of people are happy. Who knows.

She has not heard of any complaints, perhaps she has been in a coma for the past several weeks. Things are not adding up. I visited many forums and I see nothing but complaints its getting hot and heavy at the Amazon forum. Looking at the poll here over 75% are happy with their screens amazing......I know I'm not the luckiest guy around but what really are the percentages of me getting three defective Pwhites one after another. I think there is some serious damage control going on.

[sparklemotion]

Originally Posted by tmf2

She has not heard of any complaints, perhaps she has been in a coma for the past several weeks. Things are not adding up. I visited many forums and I see nothing but complaints its getting hot and heavy at the Amazon forum. Looking at the poll here over 75% are happy with their screens amazing......I know I'm not the luckiest guy around but what really are the percentages of me getting three defective Pwhites one after another. I think there is some serious damage control going on.

Happily I finally spoke to a rep that is aware of the problem. I was relieved to finally have someone from Amazon admit it to me, I was getting pretty frustrated. They called me tonight. I detailed everything in a new thread here:

https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=194935